Lil Wayne Pleads Guilty to Weapon Possession
Lil Wayne
Best-selling rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted weapons possession and is likely to get slapped with a one-year prison sentence after striking a deal with Manhattan prosecutors.
Lil Wayne (real name: Dwayne Carter Jr.) pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, the Manhattan district attorney's office said. According to The Associated Press, Wayne will remain free under $30,000 bond until his sentencing.
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His prison sentence comes at a particularly bad time, both personally and professionally. The 27-year-old rapper behind 2008's best-selling album Tha Carter III is set to release two new albums, Tha Carter IV and The Rebirth, before the end of 2009; plus, he now sits atop the Billboard 100 singles chart with Jay Sean for the song "Down." The four-time Grammy winner is also expecting his fourth child.
The charge dates back to July 22, 2007, when New York City police found a loaded .40-caliber semi-automatic weapon on his tour bus. Wayne's original charges — one count of criminal weapons possession and one count of criminal possession of a loaded weapon — carry a minimum three-and-a-half year sentence.
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Wayne is scheduled to return for a Dec. 15 hearing and for sentencing in February. His lawyer, Stacey Richman, did not return calls for comment.